Track

Out of the blue, Braden decided he wanted to join the track team at his middle school. I wasn't thrilled about it because he is already playing on two sport teams--basketball and soccer--and that keeps him plenty busy, not to mention all the time it requires from his parents! But he's a great kid, his grades are decent, he's helpful around the house, he fulfulls his church duties, and he seems to be keeping up with it all so we decided to let him give it a try.

So for the last few weeks he has attended track practice three days a week after school. He chose to train for the mile run, quarter mile, and the 4 X 4 relay. Last week was his first home track meet so Kent and I each went there straight from work. I don't know what we were expecting, but we were both surprised to realize that Braden is a fast runner! His first race was the mile, and he took first place. In fact, there was was nobody even close! He was ahead of them all by more than a hundred meters. His time was 5:28. Kent says that is faster than many of the high school runners on his cross country team. He then came in second in the quarter mile race, with a time of 1:06, and then his team placed first in the relay. Who knew??

Lacrosse

Rachel has had so much fun playing on her high school women's Lacrosse team this year. She's been very committed to attending practices four days a week after school, and twelve games this spring. When she first started talking about Lacrosse, I had never seen an actual game, and had only a vague idea about what it was.

I quickly learned that Lacrosse is a team sport that is played using a small solid rubber ball and a long-handled racquet called a lacrosse stick. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose netting that is designed to hold the lacrosse ball.

Offensively, the object of the game is to use the lacrosse stick to catch, carry, and pass the ball in an effort to score by hurling the ball into the opponent's goal.

Defensively, the object is to keep the opposing team from scoring, and to steal the ball through "checking" (hitting the opponant's stick).

Unlike men's Lacrosse, the women's version of the game does not promote a lot of physical contact, thank goodness! But it does get pretty rough at times--Rachel has suffered multiple dark bruises, aches and pains. The only protective equipment worn for this sport is a mouth guard and a face guard. As for their uniforms, you can see in the pictures that they consist of short skirts. I think they're cute!

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I also learned that Lacrosse is one of the oldest team sports in America. And today it is one of the fastest growing sports for both boys and girls. I'm so glad Rachel has been involved in it this year, it has been great for her.

Easter Egg Hunt

Not sure at what age kids outgrow Easter egg hunts, but I'm sure glad mine haven't yet.

Special Delivery

A couple of weeks ago we got a knock on the door, someone we didn't know was standing there with these... After popping the balloons, we put together this secret message...

...and he signed his name, he is one of Rachel's good friends. So lately we've been doing some serious prom dress shopping. Here are a few of her favorites so far...

Stay tuned to see which one she picked!

Front Door Facelift

I'm ready for spring! I know the calendar tells us that spring arrived a couple of weeks ago, but today it is snowing...and it snowed yesterday...in fact it is supposed to snow off and on this whole week. I'm trying to be mature about this, but I'm getting very impatient! Last week I decided my house needed a spring makeover, starting with the front door. It has been a dark chocolate brown for a couple of years now, time for a change!

So last week I hired a painter to lighten things up. Then Kent took me to my favorite home decor boutique (Taipan Trading) so I could find a springy floral wreath to match. Ta-da! Instant home facelift!

Now, if only Mother Nature would cooperate.

April Fools

Yesterday was April 1st, otherwise known as "April Fools' Day". I'm not much of a fan, but Stefanie was all excited about it. She'd heard about a great joke she was dying to play on her big sibs. While they were away at YM/YW activities that evening, she convinced Kent and I to take her shopping for a package of Oreo cookies and a tube of white toothpaste. Then we hurried home where she spent the next hour or so carefully separating the chocolate cookies, scraping out the creme filling and replacing it with toothpaste. She was so delighted to offer them a treat when they got home, and see their faces as they spit it out in disgust. April Fools!! Ha/ha. She got 'em!